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Check out
Linda's favorite
Strawberry Recipes
Legends and Lore of
Strawberries:
In provincial France, strawberries
were regarded as an aphrodisiac. Newlyweds were served always served
a cold strawberry soup.
The strawberry was a symbol for Venus,
the Goddess of Love, because of its heart shapes and red color.
Have you every eaten a double
strawberry? Legend says that if you break the strawberry in half and
share it with a member of the opposite sex, you will soon fall in
love with each other.
In parts of Bavaria, people still
practice the annual rite each spring of tying small baskets of wild
strawberries to the horns of their cattle as an offering to elves.
They believe that the elves, who are passionately fond of
strawberries, will help to produce healthy calves and abundance of
milk in return.
Queen Anne Boleyn, the second wife of
Henry VIII had a strawberry shaped birthmark on her neck, which some
claimed proved she was a witch.
To symbolize perfection and
righteousness, medieval stone masons carved strawberry designs on
altars and around the tops of pillars in churches and cathedrals.
The strawberry, a member of the rose
family, is unique in that it is the only fruit with seeds on the
outside rather than the inside. Many medicinal uses were claimed for
the wild strawberry, its leaves and root.
Did you know that the American Indians were actually cultivating
strawberries in 1643? They crushed the strawberries into a mortar, mixing
them with meal to make a strawberry bread.
By the 1800s, commercial strawberries had been cultivated. Strawberries are
the leading small fruit crop in the United States today. They are farmed
from Florida to Alaska, with the largest strawberry-growing centers located
in California, Washington, Oregon, Louisiana, Michigan, and Tennessee.
Favorite
Strawberry Recipes:
Amaretto Strawberries
Balsamic Strawberries
Blended Fresh Strawberry Margarita
Boccone Dolce (Sweet Mouthful)
Chilled Strawberry-Mint Soup
Fresh Strawberry
Granita
Fresh Strawberry Sorbet
Fruit Pizza
Maple Sauce for Strawberries
Simply Strawberries
Spinach Salad With Strawberries
Strawberries Dipped In Chocolate
Strawberries in Lemon-Lavender Syrup
Strawberries Pernod
Strawberries with Champagne and Roses
Strawberry Cake
Strawberry-Lime Crepes
Strawberry Shortcake
Stuffed Roasted Strawberries
Zabaglione with Fresh Berries
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What’s
the first thought that comes to your mind, when you think of strawberry?
It is probably of a mouth-watering
dessert of strawberries mixed with fresh cream?
There’s nothing that says "Hello Summer" quite like
eating a juicy vine-ripened strawberry that has been ripened to
perfection in the early summer sunshine.
Strawberries serve more than
just fulfilling the sweet tooth. It is packed with hordes of health
benefits, making a nutritious fruit for mind and body.
 Buying Strawberries:
Naturally the best strawberries are the ones you pick yourself from your
local strawberry fields. In the stores, always choose locally grown
strawberries during the harvesting season (they are sweeter and juicier than
those that are bred for shipment). Remember, your local strawberry season
only lasts 3 to 4 weeks
When purchasing berries from the grocery store, shop with your nose. Always
pick the plumpest and most fragrant berries. They should be firm, bright,
and fresh looking with no mold or bruises, and fresh green caps. The caps
should be bright green, fresh looking and fully attached. Berries should be
dry and clean; usually medium to small berries have better eating quality
than large ones
Strawberries do not ripen after they have been harvested, so choose
strawberries that have been picked fully ripened. They should have bright
red color, natural shine and fresh looking green caps.
Select berries that are in dry; unstained containers (stained containers may
indicate oversoft berries that are not freshly picked). Mold on berries
spreads quickly. Never leave a moldy berry next to a good one.
One pint of fresh strawberries equals about
3 1/4 cups whole berries, or 2 1/4 cups sliced berries, or 1 2/3
cups pureed berries.
Strawberry Equivalents:
Fresh
Strawberries:
1 basket* = 1 pint strawberries
=
3 1/4 cups whole berries = 2 1/4
cups sliced berries = 1 2/3 cups pureed berries.
*Basket of
strawberries refers to the market package. 1 tray or flat of
strawberries = 12 baskets.
1 cup whole strawberries =
approximately 4 ounces.
1 quart whole strawberries weighs 1¼ to 1½ pounds and
yields 4 to 5 servings.
1½ quarts strawberries are needed for one
9-inch pie.
12 pounds or 8 quarts of fresh strawberries
= approximately 13
pints of frozen berries.
Frozen Strawberries:
20 ounce bag frozen berries = about 4
cups whole berries = 2 1/2 cup sliced berries = 2 14 cups pureed
berries.
10-ounce package frozen sliced
sweetened strawberries = 1 1/4 cups strawberries in syrup.
Storing
and Preparing Strawberries:
Before using or storing, sort through the strawberries and separate the
soft ones from the firm, fully ripe berries. Discard any mushy or
spoiled berries.
Store them in a colander in the refrigerator. This allows the cold air
to circulate around them. Do not cover them.
Remove caps from strawberries only after washing. Prepare strawberries
for serving by rinsing with caps still attached under a gentle spray of
cool water; pat dry with a paper towel. (Don't remove the caps before
washing; the caps keep the water from breaking down the texture and
flavor inside the berries.). Wash the berries just before you plan to
use them. Use as soon as possible; strawberries ripen no further once
picked.
To keep strawberries from absorbing large quantities of water when
washing them, place in a salad spinner to remove excess water.
 Strawberry Nutrition:
Strawberries are not only good to eat, they are also "good for us." They
are an especially tasty source of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). In fact,
one cup of fresh strawberries provides about 88 milligrams of ascorbic
acid, which more than meets the Recommended Daily Dietary allowance of
45 milligrams for the average adult. Vitamin C is well retained when the
strawberries are handled carefully. Capping, injuring, cutting, or
juicing, however, will reduce the vitamin content.
Strawberries are low in calories: one cup of unsweetened strawberries
has only 55 calories. So if you are on a reducing diet, use strawberries
to add flavor, food value, and pleasure to meals. You can even eat some
as a between-meals snack.
One 140 g serving of
eight (8) medium-sized strawberries has:
140% of the
Daily Value for vitamin C
12% of the
Daily Value for dietary fiber
Only 7 grams
of sugar (lowest among the top-selling fruits)
A source of
folate and potassium
Only 45
calories
Nutrition Comparison
|
Fruit |
Fiber
(g) |
Potassium
(mg) |
Vitamin C (mg) |
Sugar
(g) |
|
Strawberries |
3 |
210 |
84 |
7 |
|
Apples |
4 |
150 |
7 |
14 |
|
Grapes |
1 |
266 |
6 |
22 |
|
Bananas |
4 |
504 |
13 |
17 |
|
Oranges |
3 |
252 |
74 |
13 |
Freezing Strawberries
Cooperative Extension Service, College of Agriculture
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
When you have more strawberries than you can eat or when strawberries can be
obtained at a reasonable cost, freeze them to eat later. For freshly made
strawberry 'am at any time of the year, freeze berries and then make the jam
at your convenience.
Strawberries are easy to freeze. You can use a dry-sugar or a syrup pack.
The dry-sugar pack is especially easy and gives the best flavor and color
for sliced or crushed berries. For whole frozen berries a syrup pack is
recommended because it produces a plump, well-shaped berry after thawing.
For special sugar-free diets, strawberries can be frozen unsweetened, but
they will not be as high in quality as sugar- or syrup-packed berries.
No matter which type of pack you choose to use, follow these general
directions for preparing and packaging strawberries for freezing:
Use only firm, fully ripe berries.
To avoid bruising and soaking the berries, wash only a few at a time in
cold water. colander or
Drain on absorbent paper or in a colander or sieve.
Remove the hulls with the tip of a floating blade peeler.
Chill the fruit in ice water to lower its temperature for fast freezing.
When packaging for freezing:
Do not fill containers completely; allow a head space of ½" for pints,
1/4" for 11/2 pints, and I" for quarts.
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) may be purchased in crystalline or tablet form
or as a commercial ascorbic acid mixture to help prevent darkening of
foods. If using the crystalline form, dissolve ½ teaspoon of ascorbic
acid in each pint of water, berry I . nice, or crushed berries. For a
dry-sugar pack, mix the ascorbic acid with the sugar. If using tablets,
use 1,500 milligrams per pint; crush the tablets so that they will
dissolve more readily. When using a commercial mixture, follow the
manufacturer's directions.
Seal containers and label with the name of the product and the date
frozen.
Freeze promptly, then store at 0 degree F or below.
Dry-Sugar Pack
Halve, quarter, or slice clean berries into a bowl or shallow pan. If
desired, berries may be crushed rather than sliced.
Sprinkle sugar over berries, using 1/3 to 3/4 cup sugar for each quart
of fruit.
Gently turn berries over and over until the sugar is thoroughly
dissolved.
Package and freeze.
Syrup Pack
-
Make a syrup using 11/4 cups water to each cup sugar. Dissolve the sugar
in either cold or hot water; if hot water is used, be sure to chill the
syrup before using. Use about ½ to 1/3 cup of syrup for each pint
container. Place whole or sliced berries in containers and cover with
cold syrup. Package and freeze.
Unsweetened Pack
Pack whole, sliced, or crushed berries in containers.
Cover whole or sliced berries with water or berry juice. For better
color retention, add ascorbic acid to the water, berry juice, or crushed
berries. Cover crushed berries with their own juice. Package and freeze
as discussed earlier.
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